Sub-40min 10k

[Daniel]

Hi TheEd,

5km race today, and I exceeded my expectations with a 19:01 finish. Extremely happy with that result after only 2 cycles. :yes:

It's a great feeling to achieve the first of my goals, and it's a good indicator that I'm capable of a sub-40 10km race with a bit more work.

My next planned race is 10km but it's in 5 week's time, so I have 2 weeks to fill. I was thinking of doing week 1 & 2 then skip week 3 and start the next cycle, is that a good approach or do you have a better suggestion?

As always thanks for your help and advice.

[TheEd]

congrats on the run, the program is designed to nurture ability with balanced training

your plan of 2 weeks and then 3 weeks is good

after the 2 weeks you can look to do another 5k run

on we go

TheEd

[Daniel]

Hi TheEd,

A quick update on progress since the race:

Day 20 30min easy | 30:01 | 6.30km | Avg Pace 4:46 | Avg HR 130
Day 21 Rest (felt I needed a day off)

Day 1 60-70min easy | 1:05:54 | 14.04km | Avg Pace 4:42 | Avg HR 133
Day 2 30min easy | 30:48 | 6.50km | Avg Pace 4:44 | Avg HR 132

Day 3 5x2km R90

Rep 1 | 8:01 | MHR 158 | RHR 90
Rep 2 | 8:05 | MHR 161 | RHR 96
Rep 3 | 8:01 | MHR 163 | RHR 101
Rep 4 | 8:11 | MHR 161 | RHR 96
Rep 5 | 8:11 | MHR 165

Total: 40:29 (Average Pace 4:02/km)

I didn’t treat the 5x2km session today with enough respect, and it taught me a lesson. Wasn’t planning to increase the pace but it felt easy so I picked it up in the first 3 reps. Halfway through Rep 3 I realised I had gone too hard and started to struggle. Rep 4 was very tough and I came close to giving up, Rep 5 was murder from the first 100m but I pushed through it to complete.

A good lesson learned, and I’m happy I was able to push through the fatigue to complete the session even though pace dropped off a bit in the last 2 reps. Still finished 39sec faster overall than the last time which is encouraging. Next time I will remember to hold back a bit more in the early reps.

[Daniel]

A quick update on progress. First time I was able to schedule the long run properly and not run in the heat.

Day 5 | 90min long | 1:29:02 | 17.97km | Avg Pace 4:57 | Avg HR 138
Day 6 | 30min easy | Skipped this session as I was traveling
Day 7 | 10km easy | 48:01 | 10.15km | Avg Pace 4:44 | Avg HR 135

Day 8 6x1km R60

Rep 1 | 4:02
Rep 2 | 3:52
Rep 3 | 3:54
Rep 4 | 3:50
Rep 5 | 3:51
Rep 6 | 3:42

Total: 23:11 (Avg 3:51)

Last time was 23:35 / 3:55, so some good improvement there. After the 5x2km session I was very careful not to go out too hard in the early reps, felt controlled throughout but not easy. Couldn't find the HRM this morning so no HR stats.

[TheEd]

you getting strong Daniel, results are sure to come

maybe exercising caution will benefit you during a race as well

onwards

TheEd

[Daniel]

Hi TheEd. I was feeling quite strong after the 5x1km session but it's been challenging these past few days.

Day 9 | 30min Easy | 30:04 | 6.22km | Avg HR 127 | Avg Pace 4:50
Day 10 | 60min Easy | 54:51 | 12.13km | Avg HR 139 | Avg Pace 4:31
Day 11 | Rest
Day 12 | 5k Paced | 20:36 | 5km | Avg HR 157 | Avg Pace 4:06
Day 13 | 60min Easy | 59:29 | 12.07km | Avg HR 141 | Avg Pace 4:55

I didn’t get much sleep yesterday or today and it really showed in the performance. Day 10 and Day 13 were run on the same course, but today the pace was 24sec/km slower and Avg HR was higher, also perceived effort was higher, really dragged myself around. I hope I’m not getting ill or injured, will monitor it closely over the next few days. 5km paced run was also a bit slower than last time, maybe partly because I was running by myself and not at parkrun but also lack of sleep played a part. Will see how I feel after 30min easy tomorrow and monitor resting HR.

From here I skip week 3 and start the next cycle on Tuesday with 3 weeks until target 10km event.

[TheEd]

recover well and then hopefully the 2k session is not a killer and that you are fresh when you start the cycle

onwards

TheEd

[Daniel]

A quick update. I took 2 days off to freshen up (both easy run days) and to make sure I was ready for the day 3-5 sessions. Kicked off the new cycle with 30min easy and felt more normal.

30:23 | 6.60km | Avg Pace 4:36 | Avg HR 136

Unfortunately had a scheduling problem for day 3 so I have moved the entire program back 1 day and ran the 5 x 2km session yesterday morning.

Rep 1 | 8:06 | MHR 161 | RHR 97
Rep 2 | 8:01 | MHR 163 | RHR 110
Rep 3 | 8:01 | MHR 163 | RHR 110
Rep 4 | 8:05 | MHR 164 | RHR 94
Rep 5 | 8:01 | MHR 167

Total: 40:14 (4:01min/km)

Made sure to get a conservative start and didn't fade at the end, was tough but controlled right through to the last rep. Dropped 15sec from the total time compared to 2 weeks ago but it didn't feel as hard.

Hopefully back on track now in terms of the schedule.

[TheEd]

nice to hear things are going well for you

how did the long run go, and I look froward to hearing about the 1k session

onwards

TheEd

[Daniel]

The long run went well, the pace was 10sec/km faster than last time while avg HR was about the same (a touch lower). Since the 5x2km session I have done:

Long run | 1:26:02 | 18.06km | Avg Pace 4:46 | Avg HR 137
Easy 30min | 30:18 | 6.41km | Avg Pace 4:44 | Avg HR 133
Easy 10km | 49:01 | 10.17km | Avg Pace 4:49 | Avg HR 137

This morning was the 6x1km session and unfortunately was a bit of a backwards step.

Rep 1 | 3:54 | MHR 158 | RHR 79
Rep 2 | 3:58 | MHR 161 | RHR 103
Rep 3 | 3:55 | MHR 165 | RHR 93
Rep 4 | 3:59 | MHR 163 | RHR 98
Rep 5 | 3:56 | MHR 167 | RHR 98
Rep 6 | 4:00 | MHR 163

Total: 23:42 | Avg Pace 3:57/km
(last time 23:11 | 3:51/km)

The weather this morning probably played a part, it dropped down to 4 degrees and there was a 27km/h wind blowing almost directly along the straights. Not sure if that should affect pace significantly but it certainly sucked the energy right out of me when running into it. With the extra distance running into the wind each 2nd rep I dropped about 4 seconds on the previous.

I'm not too concerned about going backward in 1 session, but interested to know from your experience what level of effect would a 27km/h wind have on pace running on a 400m track?